PROBLEM(S):

The BS with totems is that those are our class buffs and most of the other class buffs that are important are no longer removable by purge or dispel. The other classes buffs follow them wherever they go and an already limited-mobility class has to reposition and replant carefully every time the battle shifts.


The mechanic that totems are destroyed by most often is pet macros, which is BS because the player doesnt even have to know where the totem is they just need to spam their totem stomp macros while they are casting. This doesnt even use a GCD to do. -Totems should no longer be able to be targeted by pets.

Targeting of totems via macros should no longer be a mechanic of the game. it is far too easy for players to have /target (xtotem) /startattack macros and they have the mobility to use them.


SOLUTION(S):

Totems need an HP buff, it should take a healing class at least 2-3 melee swings / wand hits to down a totem.

Totems need a change in their "ticking" mechanic. Totems need to "tick" every second for the first 3 seconds they are put down in order to prevent full fears that we always eat.

Totems need a change in thier mana cost. Its far too costly to keep having to replace totems the entire game. Either the mana cost of the totems need to be reduced so we can spam them like we have to, or a mechanic needs to be implemented so that if a school of totem is killed then the next totem of that school cast within 5 seconds no longer costs any mana. This still eats our GCD but the biggest problem with shaman in arena right now is mana in every bracket.

Shaman need an ability to imbue the next totem put down, keeping it from taking damage for its duration. The shaman may only have *ONE* imbued totem down at a time. it needs to be on a relatively short cooldown (10-20 seconds) because we need to be able to replace totems often due to the fight always changing. this not only takes care of the problem with mana tide getting 1 shot even though you have put down stoneclaw to protect it. but it also gives us at least 1 guaranteed buff for the duration of the fight, just like every other class has because those buffs are no longer removable.


Id just like to note that i have been the back seat healer in every bracket in every season, theres no reason with all the changes to the other healing classes that you devs dont have time to at least make shamans playable.

bump, first page material.

They just need to increase the range to like 100 ysrds because they don't *@%#ing move.

I don't see how some blizzard guy didn't understand this as far back as even fighting ragnaros or c'thun.

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Q u o t e:
They just need to increase the range to like 100 ysrds because they don't *@%#ing move.

I don't see how some blizzard guy didn't understand this as far back as even fighting ragnaros or c'thun.

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Understanding is one thing, caring is entirely another. Rogue's vanish hasn't worked for years. No one cares but us. At least in your Q n A you got some good results, or ideas.

The totem mechanics are being changed, pet macros won't be possible in the future and they'll be down to 1 GCD.

Don't complain when we know what is coming up, it just makes it seem like whining.

Doesn't matter, we'd still be the only class in the game that every class can dispel.

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Q u o t e:
We've already announced our intention to change some of the totem mechanics.

I will however touch on one thing. If totems have super-gigantic ranges then their position matters a whole lot less (at least in PvE where they are rarely in danger). They become a whole lot more like other types of buffs. When and where you place them is supposed to matter. The design intent of totems is not that they are pretty much irrelevant to playing the class. That's not what the shaman is all about.

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Unfortunately for shamans, the rest of the game isn't about that either.

And this is why they're getting left behind in an increasingly mobile game.

Where Blizzard has come up with a unique mechanic, it clings to it desperately no matter how lousy it is. Totems for one, rage for another. What blizz doesn't realize is that sometimes there is a good reason why D&D and the other RPGs didn't do something first.

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Q u o t e:
Where Blizzard has come up with a unique mechanic, it clings to it desperately no matter how lousy it is. Totems for one, rage for another. What blizz doesn't realize is that sometimes there is a good reason why D&D and the other RPGs didn't do something first.

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I think if you are asking for a radical change to totem mechanics, you aren't likely to like the answer.

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Q u o t e:
Where Blizzard has come up with a unique mechanic, it clings to it desperately no matter how lousy it is. Totems for one, rage for another. What blizz doesn't realize is that sometimes there is a good reason why D&D and the other RPGs didn't do something first.

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Replenishment, Mp5. God we could make a list!

Sigh.

GC, how can you honestly attempt to tell us totems, and their placement is relative to skilled gameplay? In pvp we've grown accustomed to them not being relevant aside from grounding totem. Now i'll touch a little bit on what makes grounding totem good aside from its spell negation effect.

Grounding totem is on a short CD and has a relatively short duration as well. This is the direction ALL totem should be moved towards.

Short duration, short/moderate CD totems that are situational. That way the skill isn't in throwing it behind a pillar. The skill is when to use it, just like every other class with CDs. This is exactly what the class needs. We need mobility, give it to us in a short duration totem with a CD. We need melee mitigation, give it to us in a short duration totem with a CD. We need better aoe heals. Give it to us in a short duration totem with a CD.

I'm no developer, so i 'm not going to pretend how to make it all work and be your brand of balanced, but even you have to see the merit in such a suggestion.

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Q u o t e:
We've already announced our intention to change some of the totem mechanics.

I will however touch on one thing. If totems have super-gigantic ranges then their position matters a whole lot less (at least in PvE where they are rarely in danger). They become a whole lot more like other types of buffs. When and where you place them is supposed to matter. The design intent of totems is not that they are pretty much irrelevant to playing the class. That's not what the shaman is all about.

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And why dont make so shaman can choose the place where to drop totems ( aca lets say 20 yards around shaman) then you click at totem you have a little *O* so shaman can place em in any place within 20 yards ?

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Q u o t e:
We've already announced our intention to change some of the totem mechanics.

I will however touch on one thing. If totems have super-gigantic ranges then their position matters a whole lot less (at least in PvE where they are rarely in danger). They become a whole lot more like other types of buffs. When and where you place them is supposed to matter. The design intent of totems is not that they are pretty much irrelevant to playing the class. That's not what the shaman is all about.

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It doesn't matter where the Priest casts Power Word: Fortitude. It doesn't matter where the Paladin casts Blessing of Wisdom or Fire Resistance Aura. It doesn't matter where the Moonkin shifts into form or where the Ret Pally casts his Judgment. It doesn't matter where the Death Knight casts Horn of Winter.

Why are we left with this crutch? You can't expect us to be happy when we have to work twice as hard just to apply the same buff. How is this reasonable? When and where we place our totems is suppose to matter but not for other classes with the exact same buffs? Separate but equal doesn't work, it never has.

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Q u o t e:
We've already announced our intention to change some of the totem mechanics.

I will however touch on one thing. If totems have super-gigantic ranges then their position matters a whole lot less (at least in PvE where they are rarely in danger). They become a whole lot more like other types of buffs. When and where you place them is supposed to matter. The design intent of totems is not that they are pretty much irrelevant to playing the class. That's not what the shaman is all about.

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If other classes bring the same buffs in superior/more convenient forms, how is that not making totems irrelevant to playing the class?

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Q u o t e:


It doesn't matter where the Priest casts Power Word: Fortitude. It doesn't matter where the Paladin casts Blessing of Wisdom or Fire Resistance Aura. It doesn't matter where the Moonkin shifts into form or where the Ret Pally casts his Judgment. It doesn't matter where the Death Knight casts Horn of Winter.

Why are we left with this crutch? You can't expect us to be happy when we have to work twice as hard just to apply the same buff. How is this reasonable? When and where we place our totems is suppose to matter but not for other classes with the exact same buffs? Separate but equal doesn't work, it never has.

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Hey, segregationists everywhere would resent this statement. GET TO THE BACK OF THE BUS.

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Q u o t e:
We've already announced our intention to change some of the totem mechanics.

I will however touch on one thing. If totems have super-gigantic ranges then their position matters a whole lot less (at least in PvE where they are rarely in danger). They become a whole lot more like other types of buffs. When and where you place them is supposed to matter. The design intent of totems is not that they are pretty much irrelevant to playing the class. That's not what the shaman is all about.

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The problem I see with this philosophy is in the fact that most totems are no longer unique buffs. With totems like tremor and grounding and cleansing i totally agree, position should matter. But totems like mana spring? I regularly ask for BOW in raids even with only one pally because it is just a better application for a buff. It lasts longer, I don't have to worry about the buff being removed, and I can go wherever I want and don't have to worry about losing the buff. Having a buff be a totem just because shamans need to use totems seems too simple minded, but maybe it needs to be... I don't know.

Why can't we get simple buffs to be like the other buffs, while holding some unique abilities tied to totems? Back in Vanilla wow totems were unique, and as such there limitations were more acceptable. But when you can get horn of winter from a DK do you honestly think having a limited range on SOE so that position matters feels logical? I think with the recent design changes for buffs there needs to be a shift in philosophy for totems, shamans unique way of buffing. At the very give us a more desirable option for those buffs that can be brought by another class in a more mobile version.

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Q u o t e:
We've already announced our intention to change some of the totem mechanics.

I will however touch on one thing. If totems have super-gigantic ranges then their position matters a whole lot less (at least in PvE where they are rarely in danger). They become a whole lot more like other types of buffs. When and where you place them is supposed to matter. The design intent of totems is not that they are pretty much irrelevant to playing the class. That's not what the shaman is all about.

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Then you have to buff shamans totem buffs to be superior than the other buffs since ours aren't mobile.

Give us a REASON to WANT to drop totems.

Totems off the GCD imo.

Never figured out why they changed that...